You must protect your rights and interests if you are going through a high-asset divorce. That means you need to consider your financial status when things like real estate and business divisions arise.
That means you need to ensure that someone conducts a proper valuation so that you can get your share of the assets. After all, you cannot rely simply on your spouse’s testimony when it comes to evaluating and dividing your assets.
Separate vs. marital real estate
First, the court will examine your real estate holdings to determine what is marital and separate. Separate properties are typically acquired before the marriage, received as inheritance, obtained via the exchange of other property or listed in a prenuptial agreement. In contrast, marital property is anything acquired during the marriage, has both spouses on the deed or increased significantly in value due to marital improvements.
Business status
Kentucky statutes state that businesses owned during your marriage are marital property. Therefore, whether it was a joint effort of both or one spouse did all the work, it is a marital asset.
Division
You can reach a division agreement outside of court. However, the court will still need to review and approve any agreements you come to. If you cannot agree on your own, the court will intervene and decide based on these classifications and the value of all marital items.
When going through your divorce, you must ensure that the court evaluates your property and business assets correctly. Otherwise, you could get the short end of the stick when the division process occurs. To do this, make sure you undertake a thorough investigation of all assets. That can ensure you get the correct values and a fair division.